This morning, while making breakfast at home, I turned on the radio to Mark Hyman, M.D.’s interview on NPR’s The People’s Pharmacy.  Dr. Hyman is the author of The Blood Sugar Solution: The Ultrahealthy Program for Losing Weight, Controlling Diabetes and Feeling Great Now! He talked about the same things I talk about  – how to control and prevent type 2 diabetes by eating real foods and reducing/eliminating the liquid calories and bad carbohydrates.

When I first turned on the show, I had just returned from a glorious walk/run over the Barber Bridge and was in the middle of making a late Sunday morning breakfast for my son and me consisting of a baby portabello mushroom and cheese omelet (plus turkey bacon for my son).  Terry Graydon was talking about the food dyes and sugars contained in common breakfast cereals like Fruit Loops served in many of this country’s schools.  She asked Dr. Hyman about what makes a great breakfast and he talked about the value of starting the day with good protein foods, like eggs, nut butters, nuts, and protein shakes.

Foods promoted by Dr. Hyman were what he calls “slow carbs” (commonly known to most of us as the “good carbs”).  He said to visualize your plate and fill half of it with the slow carbs – the non-starchy  vegetables  – and eat as much of those as you want.  Then add a good protein like fish or tofu (he also said chicken, but that’s not one of my menu options by choice) on ¼ of the plate and add a grain like black rice (which raises the blood sugar more slowly than white or brown rice) or quinoa on the remaining ¼ plate.  This plate method is what I have been teaching for years in Healthy Diabetes Coach classes and when I was running the Wellness Program of a Medicare Advantage company.  Some of the foods he advocates include broccoli, nut butters, spinach, chia and hemp seeds (both high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids), strawberries, quinoa, and black rice.  (NOTE:  Check out Lundberg Rice.  They have a great black rice mix I love to use.)

Dr. Hyman’s new book is available on www.amazon.com.   His message is that food is medicine and that diabetes can be controlled with food — the same information contained in the Healthy Diabetes Coach education program available here.   Eat well, live well!

A healthy way to start your day

Nancy L. Heinrich, M.P.H.

Your Healthy Diabetes Coach

Are you getting enough sleep?  How about your kids?  Are they up texting and doing homework all night some nights?  Do you go to bed about the same time every night?  Do you sleep at least 5 hours every night?  Do you work the 3^rd shift occasionally?

The answers to these questions can increase your risk of developing diabetes.   The role of sleep in health maintenance cannot be understated.  WE NEED GOOD SLEEP.

Scientists are calling sleep loss one of health care’s big challenges.  A study was published last week which shows that sleep plays a very complex role in preventing diabetes.  “ As sleep drops and normal biological rhythms are disrupted, your body physically changes in ways that can help set the stage for diabetess, reports neuroscientist Orfeu Buston of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.” (Source: Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, April 17, 2012)

We know that there are many determinants in the diabetes puzzle such as eating too many carbs and simple sugars, too little exercise, too much stress, and history of gestational diabetes.  Not enough sleep causes the body to become stressed.   While I agree that more research about the relationship between sleep and diabetes needs to be done, I believe there is sufficient evidence showing how important it is for us to get a good night’s sleep.  To help prevent diabetes in America’s kids, we should be teaching them the lesson about the importance of sleep.

Next time I see you, you can be sure I’ll be asking, “Did you sleep well last night?”

Nancy Heinrich

Your Healthy Diabetes Coach

Did you hear today’s news? Bariatric surgery can reverse diabetes in some people. Rearrange the internal organs, give the intestines some breathing room so insulin can do its job, and poof! Blood sugars returned to normal in more than half of the patients studied (www.nytimes.com).

With an estimated 26 million Americans with diabetes and 79 million more in the pipeline with prediabetes, make no mistake. The diabetes-obesity epidemic will make doctors and Big Pharma rich beyond anyone’s imaginations. Meanwhile, this same epidemic jeopardizes our national security system because of the lack of physically fit men and women to recruit into the branches of the U.S. military.  It also threatens the financial viability of our public hospitals and our children’s futures.

Is surgery really a viable alternative for some of the 94 million Americans with or at high risk for diabetes who also happen to be obese? Just think of the profits to the health care system if surgery becomes one of the top treatment options for diabetes.

Then think of the number of people who will die from the complications of bariatric surgery because they’ve been sold the easy-fix glamour package.  The fact is that there is a risk of death every time you go into a hospital surgical suite as a patient.  They don’t tell you that on the billboard on U.S. Highway One I see every day for a local hospital’s bariatric surgery department.

For some people who are extremely overweight and have diabetes, surgery may be a good option for preventing life-threatening and irreversible complications.  It’s not a good option for most people, however.

I hope the media, in its frenzy to cover today’s “big” story, does not lose sight of the fact that most people with type 2 diabetes can control and reverse it with changes to what they eat and how much physical activity they get. I hope people living with diabetes who are overweight will talk with their doctors about the pros AND cons of bariatric surgery before making any irrational decisions. The fact is today’s story may be good news for those who are extremely overweight and struggling with the consequences of uncontrolled blood sugars.

Remember that for most people with diabetes, it can be controlled by becoming educated about foods, fitness, and finding the right balance. It’s about making good choices most of the time.

Enough talk from me. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Take a walk with a friend or a loved one. I’ve worked with so many adults who, when they started walking every day and making small changes in their foods, started losing weight and reducing the medicines they needed because their blood sugars came back into control.

My prescription for you? Walk every day. Reduce the bad carbs (like sodas, sweet tea, white bread, foods containing white sugar) and make most of your carbs the good ones (like lots of vegetables, whole grains, lentils, split peas, fruit). And remember that knowing what to do to control diabetes is easy…once you’ve been educated about what to do.

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Your Healthy Diabetes Coach

It’s the second month of the New Year.  By now, you’ve probably forgotten the New Year’s resolutions you made for 2012.  What’s happened to the promise you made to lose 5 or 10 pounds?  As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?”

Are you ready to be inspired?  I’d like to share a story with you about someone I know with who decided to keep her promise to herself.  Here’s her story…

“Cathy” made up her mind over the Christmas holiday that she was going to lose the ten pounds she had gained since October of 2011.  She found a free online resource to keep her accountable for what she eats and how much she exercises.  She’s learned that calories count and if you eat more calories than your body needs, you’ll gain weight.  She’s also learned about the energy equation and how important it is to get the right balance of (the right) foods and exercise.

Guess what?  Yesterday Cathy told me she’s already lost 4 pounds!  She is on her way because she has the tools she needs PLUS she has the support of friends and family.

What’s your health goal for 2012?  To get to a healthier weight?  To listen to what your doctor said about losing weight so your prediabetes doesn’t move into full-blown diabetes?  Then get moving, eat better, and put a little less on your plate.  If you need help, then go get it.   Cathy found what she needed at www.myfitnesspal.com.  Check it out, it might help you keep your new year’s resolutions to get healthier!

NOTE FROM NANCY:  The connection between being overweight or obese and developing diabetes cannot be understated.  There is a direct correlation.  If you want to prevent diabetes (1 in 4 adults age 60 and older is diagnosed with diabetes), then START NOW getting to a healthier weight.

Your Healthy Diabetes Coach,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH